


Opprobrium

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Category: One Piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21858388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: Adults think they're so smart. Little do they know they're supposed to be keeping you in, and not keeping everyone else out.
Kudos: 17





	Opprobrium

It was the middle of the night, but all things considered, it could’ve just as easily happened in the middle of the day. When they didn’t want anything from him, he didn’t matter, nor did they care. But night made it easier to sneak past his parents and anyone who wanted to earn their favor. 

But Sabo didn’t care. There wasn’t a good reason for him to stay. He could feel the way they looked at him. Cold, judgemental stares chilling him to the core. He had read enough books to know how it should’ve felt, and this wasn’t it. 

He had tried to apply what happened in the books. He tried to be studious, but he was never smart enough. His attempts to be charming and funny at parties were met with harsh scoldings on how he was embarrassing them. Before he could even try to be strong, he was scolded for wanting to do poor person activities. Not even the loving son was enough to get love in return. 

The last straw was when he tried to defend himself from an armed kid that was around his age. He was left to deal with his injuries and the knowledge that he was never going to be anything in their eyes by himself. 

He thought destination was fitting, even if there was really else nowhere for him to go. He didn’t have a boat, and there wasn’t anyone nearby that was willing to take him in and not rat him out to his parents for some favour down the road. If his parents were going to treat him like trash, where else was he to go but Grey Terminal. 

He took nothing but the clothes on his back. Anything else would rouse suspicions. He was going to disappear as if he never existed in the first place. He scaled down the side of the house, and ran off into the night. 

The path down to Grey Terminal was not one he was well acquainted with. He was a noble, it his parents never ventured too close to the garbage. They had people that did that for them. Sabo always figured that there was a reason for it, but his opinion on them had since been painted a different colour. It was probably because they thought they were too important to go and do something like that. He was glad he wasn’t around them anymore. 

He vaguely remembered the path to the wall. It was hard to miss, given the fact that it was a big wall. Now that he was reevaluating his home life, he was starting to think differently of why the things around him were the way they were. Sabo couldn’t think of a good reason why it was there. It divided the town between the nobles and the non-nobles, but other than where they were born, but the why that mattered was lost on him. 

He watched from an alley the guards as monitored their gate. They must’ve been on the lookout for anyone trying to sneak into High Town. He knew that they’d drag him back home if they caught him. His parents didn’t like him before, he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like if he got caught. 

But none of the nobles he knew ever strayed this far to the gate. Who was to say that they’d even recognize him as a noble. Especially if he pretended not to have his medallion. It was a risk, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. He’d dirty up his clothes to add to the charade. 

He’d knock over one of the bins. It didn’t take long for a guard to run over and see what the commotion was about. To keep the act going (and maybe out of a little genuine fear) Sabo tried to run from the guard, but was quickly grabbed and picked up by the back of his jacket. 

“Where do you think you’re going, kid.” The guard asked, shining his light on him, making him glad that he got himself dirty. 

“Oh! I’m, uh, I’m just on my way home.” He nervously laughed, because if all went accordingly, that would be the truth. The light kept him from seeing the expression on the guard’s face, but the silence seemed suspicious. 

“Then you wouldn’t mind showing me your badge, would you?” Sabo made a surprised expression, like he didn’t expect to be asked about a badge, and went into his pockets to pretend to look for it. 

“You know, I think I left it at home. If you just let me go-” Sabo started, before being carried back to the gate. The guard tossed him out of High Town and into the streets of Edge Town. 

“Nice try, kid. Go home.” The guard ordered. Despite authority leaving a bad taste in his mouth and not wanting to do a word any adult says anymore, Sabo would oblige. Mostly since he was so helpful and got him out of High Town. 

Edge Town was new territory for him. Immediately he could see the drop in care that went into the buildings. They looked more like the haunted buildings from ghost stories than homes for the living. Had there been an incident lately? One that gave the wall a meaning?

No, that was what they wanted him to think. This was all just a trick to get him to go back home with his tail between his legs and try to be something he was never going to be. That was never going to happen. 

His next goal was obvious. He had to keep heading towards the walls. Out there was freedom, and he wasn’t going to be kept from it any longer. He didn’t have to rely on anyone or anything but himself. The key difference between him and his parents, was that he wasn’t going to be disappointed by himself. He was all he was going to need to be happy, and he was going to be all he needed to thrive. 

There were no guards to keep him from going out into Grey Terminal. The first thing he learned was that freedom smelled a lot like garbage. The second was that he weirdly didn’t mind. Sure it wasn’t a great smell, but it was so much more open. It felt lighter, and less like he had to pretend about anything. 

He was Sabo now. Son of no ones, first and only of his name. No one was going to be able to tell him what to do, or who to be. 

Grey Terminal was only the beginning. He’d stay here until he was strong enough to venture out. He’d also work on finding a boat. And then there wasn’t going to be anyone who could tell him what to do, or anyone to stop him. 

Sabo had never realized just how heavy that weight he was carrying was, but now that he left it behind, he felt so much lighter. 

His future was bright, and he couldn’t wait to see what it held. 


End file.
